How to Build an Electric Sailboat

Really appreciate the support, check out the Patreon for more access and perks: / findingsimon
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I'm a Canadian photographer from Ottawa who got rid of everything to travel to world. I make travel vlogs sharing my ups and downs, adventures on motorbikes, sailboats, and vans.
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:::::::FAQ:::::::
- How do you afford to travel constantly?
A: I travel really cheap, free camping, cooking my own meals, being as efficient as possible. I make my income almost entirely on KZbin but it's really tight. Ad revenue, patreon, paypal donations, merchandise sales and affiliate links bring in about as much as a part time minimum wage job, and I'm able to make that work. When it isn't enough I go back to work, doing photography mostly, sometimes commercial video projects, but it takes me away from my travels and videos.
- How much does it cost?
I spend on average $2000 travelling, most of which is gas, some repairs, food, and on average less than $200 on any eating out, shopping or extra curricular expenditures. I make $200 a month from KZbin and $400 from Patreon. The rest I make from my work.
- What camera do you use?
Sony A7ii, DJI Mavic Pro, Rode Videomic with Deadcat, Zihyun Crane 3 Axis Gimbal, DIY tripods and lights.
- What is your bike?
1999 Yamaha Vstar XVS1100 with a Champion Escort sidecar.
- What kind of boat is that?
It's a 1979 Wharram Oro 47
- What're your plans?
Fix it up, run nothing but green power, sail off into the sunset.
- How do you find all these cool places?
To gain access to my complete research you need to hit me up on Patreon, but here's a few sites I frequent: freecampsites.net/ www.campendium.com/ www.atlasobscura.com/ www.couchsurfing.com/
- What do you do for Internet?
I use coffeeshops and libraries to upload episodes a few at a time, I also use my wifi antenna ( • Get Free WiFi on the R... ) and a data package on my phone (10GB)
- How do you live on the road with a dog?
It's really not as difficult as people seem to think. I spend most of the day with my dog anyways, especially if it's warm out in the middle of the day. I let the constraint of bringing my dog with me help me make some decisions, avoiding places that ban dogs, and spending more time out in nature instead of in the cities.
- What happened to the girl?
We decided to go separate ways ( • We Broke Up )
- Are you rich or something?
definitely not. I've spent some quality time homeless, I've struggled financially most of my life, and although I'm blessed with great friends and family as well as being able bodied white and male, I don't subscribe to the belief that you need someone footing your bills in order to travel the world. You need to sacrifice comfort, consistency, safety, time with family, and often your career but it is possible.
- Why don't you have 10x more subscribers?
My channel isn't that old, many of the bigger channels you can compare mine to started putting out videos a couple years before I began. I could always use your help sharing my videos, spreading the word, and connecting with cross promotional opportunities. Editing and travelling tend to take up all my time.
- Where are you now?
The top perk on my Patreon page is a live link of my location on google maps so you can get an active idea of where I am currently. If that's not an option for you there's also Instagram and Instagram stories that give you a much better idea of what I'm up to today.

[@SUVRVing]

I'm not a boat person, and I don't plan on every getting a boat, but I still thought that was interesting. Good to get an idea of where your build is going. Happy New Year!

[@cartmanrlsusall]

SUV RVing its called overthinking

[@jeanrusso3822]

Cool!!! I am a jack of all-trade master of non!!! I enjoyed listening to you! I do know electrical sailboat is the way to go...I specially like the idea that you don't have to come back to shore to recharge. There are many ways to get a boat going without ever having to recharge on shore. I can't way to see your electrical boat on the way.

[@growthandunderstanding]

Not a boring episode at all! Very informative with tons of great info! You provide such a valuable resource to those of us too busy with other responsibilities/whatever do perform such a thorough research of sustainable means of fueling our lives at sea! 100/100!

[@muller135]

This is awesome, that boat is going to be so good when finished!

[@earcracker1972]

Wow man, awesome project! You totally are doing what I am thinking, please keep us posted with your progress!

[@airtime89410]

Good luck on the build. I look forward to seeing in come together. The detail is great.

[@annecasillas5402]

How exciting! 2018 is going to be a busy year for you. All your hard work and planning are really starting to show! 💖

[@WmCRobison]

I appreciate how you thought out what you want to say, wrote a script (or at least bullet points) so you made a concise presentation. I am not a boat person myself. I am interested to watch how things go as you implement your plan. I admire your plan to minimize your foot print, and explore. I wish I had had your guts when I was your age.

[@lindahamly5468]

Happy New Year Simon. Looking forward to the New Years progress on your boat

[@jamesk8198]

Thanks. I am going all electric refitting my Allied Princess Ketch. Looking forward to following your build.

[@ghismo]

Hello and happy new year ! It's my first video on your channel, subscribed immediately, and I'm looking after the next episodes of this project ! This is very well explained and documented, and this is probably something I'd like as well on my sail boat.

[@xXChakra2o9Xx]

Happy New Years and good luck on your project!

[@Doubleodude]

Wow this just got real. Sounds exciting. Happy New Years my friend. Looking forward to your progress.

[@susanstrickland6774]

Happy New Year! Wishing yot a year of adventures. 👍

[@0HARE]

This was super informative, and interesting. I am one of those older guys who loves diesel, but, I am totally ‘on board’ with what you’re putting together here. It looks like you have done your homework very well, and know what is capable and how to put it together. I am looking forward to seeing this come together. Best Of Luck

[@frederickoning191]

A very complicated process of assessment and then implementation. A very interesting video raising a number of points I wasn't aware of. This is a fast evolving field.

[@Richdudevids]

good info you have helped me with the way iam going with my boat thanks and i well keep watching to see how you do

[@mickskinner1282]

Awesome review and great thoughts, I'm on a similar journey, (currently building a Bruce Roberts pcf 40' motor sailer) After owning lots of fossil fuels vessels and using electric motors in large model boats, it is so much cleaner, quieter and down right awesome to be able to be self sufficient making your own power, Ps. Even if it takes a week to recharge, it's the best excuse to stay in an amazing anchorage lol, who's in a rash anyways 👍 Keep up the great work

[@bharris968]

Great vid. EXACTLY what I've been looking for. Thanks for posting. Subbed

[@stevenscott189]

Looks like a great project, I am interested in this conversion and the new tech power and how it turns out!

[@WanderingBird]

So excited to find you- you're the only other person I've found who's doing boats, vans & motorbikes!! 👍 😀 We've lived and explored on boats for 14 years. In 2017 we bought a motorhome and use that and our motorbikes to explore Europe. We're moving back onto our boat in March so our daughter can finish college, but we're spending the summer exploring Norway & Scandanavia. Good luck with your build- look forward to seeing more. Feel free to ask if you'd like any help- we've rebuilt 3 boats and made a LOT of mistakes!!! 😂 😂 Take care, Kat the Wandering Bird

[@findingsimon]

What're the biggest mistakes in your books?

[@de1t4]

This was just a random video I clicked that youtube suggested. I found this "boring" video very interesting. I have no boat experience myself but I want to sail the world one day and I have been thinking about why not to make a sailboat electric. You idea is awesome! I will for sure follow your journey. Cheers!

[@daveevans7438]

I just.watched your electronic vid and found it. Ery interesting. I do a lot of solar for a large electrical contractor in MI. Mostly 5mw and above "grid connected size" sounds like you purchased 20 340 watt modules. Like you were saying that's a lot of solar area to mount on a boat. A couple of notes. They work best if they're pointed south (or if your in the Caribbean straight up) but more importantly for your install is shading. Even if one cell of the modules is shaded it will basically shut down that module. So watch your placement and beware of the boom that could cast shade on the modules if you mount them on top of the pilot house... Great channel and I'm very interested in the out come of your electronic installation. Good luck!

[@lindathompson6678]

Happy New Year!

[@yoda3642]

Awesome. Love ur work. Good luck!

[@MyLifesVentures]

Happy New Years Simoooon! = )

[@Clickchic]

Happy New Year to you and Melly. 💞Champ💞

[@dejayrezme8617]

Wow this is a very cool project. I'd love to do this too tbh! I've thought about a solar boat a while back too to live on board but didn't think it was feasible really. But now I've found quite a few solar boat projects and it seems to work very well for small boats at least.

[@N330AA]

I think it can work for a Cat if you are happy cruising about 4/5 knots.

[@yankeecaptain6626]

Yes it is good to hear you plan an electric life stile for a boat. it has been a dream of mine for a long time. wind over electric the perfect combination .

[@musFuzZ]

This is one of the best run downs i have seen yet on planning and comparing electric engines for sailboats. I plan on building a electric fiberglass Triamaran. I have a big cylindrical windmill that is going in the top of my mast alongside with solar panels. Hoping that the solar tecnologies are going to enable sails with integrated solar panels soon. Toying with the idea about a kite or sea-anchor, cable connected to a winch/ generator for power collection, , or connecting the propeller to drag and create tourqe when sailing. I subscribed.

[@epiksl33pwalk3r9]

Its gonna be big!

[@colingrant321]

Travelling the world without fossil fuel, and maintaining modern conveniences such as running hot water and air conditioning sounds amazing. A sail boat can make that happen. So many options for harnessing energy from nature.

[@sandyc6569]

Happy New Years from Oklahoma!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

[@BananaMan]

I'm also working on a building an electric Boat, Great to see your ideas

[@advancednutritioninc908]

I love your ideas of breaking the mold! I have been a mechanic and fabricator for years and I am an electrical engineer (I am not an expert on boats). If you are going to use an unproven electric motors to power your boat in the middle of the pacific or in difficult situations like crossing a jet stream where you need to get through it and a 2nd chance is not always an option - I think you better use a significant de-rating of the motors and you better have spares on board.

[@strongme80]

Excuse me Advanced Nutrition Inc, would you please explain a bit what you mean by "you better use a 'significant de-rating of the motors"? I have no clue what this means.

[@advancednutritioninc908]

@@strongme80 Motors usually have a rating. That is for a certain time period. Often people over power the motor for a short period Of time to get more power out of it.

[@advancednutritioninc908]

@@strongme80 if you're going to exceed this time rating and you plan on keeping your motor alive for continued reliable use. Then you have to apply less power to the motor and consider it a lower horsepower. And you should run your calculations with that in mind.

[@penguinchick6563]

Keep it up, you are doing great!🐧

[@johnlcallaway]

Thanks for doing this. I agree 100% with what you are doing, if my engine needed a rebuild I would probably switch to electric myself.

[@Rooneycgs]

Truly amazing

[@ironhenry2708]

Simon as a yacht captain I would suggest that you don't worry so much about weight as by removing the Diesel engine and associated tank etc you will need to replace that lost weight with ballast to maintain stability. Weight will be your friend when sailing

[@setkacagarro-blogspot-com]

dan greeves its a catamaran and a wharram cat you dont want to overload a catamsran, also the load carrying capacity is a concern, catamarans need to be light, how much will all the batteries weigh, i hsd a whsrram sailling and living on for 5 years, tho it was a small tiki 26

[@findingsimon]

+Nathan Levin these batteries weigh about a tenth what lead acid of the same capacity would. They're not very heavy. That being said wharram aren't racers. They're not very fast for catamarans. Keeping weight down is still important though but more than that it's cost that's the biggest inhibitor. Lastly I'm not hosting patrons for profit. I'm not charging anyone anything to be on this boat. I only invite those I choose.

[@josephatnip2398]

dan greeves all the weight will be replaced with batteries a lots and lots of batteries

[@dougblythe5358]

Interesting concept

[@jdee6871]

Hi Simon, i love your video men and its good and well explained,i did subscribe as your channel is good

[@sharoncowley2496]

This is a great video! Great idea to get rid of the Diesel.....Good luck

[@lifeatsea8197]

good job ... and good luck

[@josephdupont]

A very very nice presentation on this subject... what about compressed air motors

[@svguenevere]

Nice presentation on converting to electric. We moved aboard our mono sailboat in 1996, sailed out for full time cruising in 04. Starting around 2005 we now cruise about half time. I recently did a 4 part KZbin video on power aboard our boat. NOT electric powered... One thing that comes to mind is the need for “emergency” power. I think of it like the life raft. You pay bucks for it, it sits and you hope to never use it. BUT you would be reckless to go blue water without it. We found that at times that you NEED power, and you need it now. AND, it will always take place when you are least prepared. I am not advocating putting a full diesel drive in, just a backup that could drive the boat!

[@pakde8002]

You had me up to the ac and heated water lol I've lived in the tropics 10 years without ac or hot water and don't feel like I'm roughing it. But I entirety support you getting off fossil fuels. I've been trying to unravel the electric motor with continuous charging via solar wind and even hydro for a smaller coastal cruising catamaran. It is daunting. Lots of information but no one size fits all setup. Check my playlists for some KZbin resources you might have missed. Looking forward to the finished product. Good luck.

[@sailingluckybear1045]

Thumbs up my friend, I am thinking of an electric motor for my boat build (Building a 37 foot Bruce Roberts design), you gave some great info and lots to think about

[@peterwinnin3123]

Love your work. I am planing to try a different path i.e Toyota Prius Hybrid setup. I plan to buy a cheap old inboard boat as a test rig and see what happens. Good luck with yours

[@findingsimon]

Hybrid batteries are usually quite small. 1 to 2 kwhr of storage. A small electric vehicle has 20 kwhrs. This boat has 22.5kwhrs. So I'd keep your options o0en for batteries. Check in with jehu Garcia's KZbin channel. He often has good deals on batteries second hand.

[@ConsciousMechanism]

If these are Johnson Controls you are in good hands. They are a stellar company. Quality. I like the direction you are going. Very inspiring.

[@findingsimon]

+Lawrence Bishop they are and that's good to hear. Since they deal in industrial sales they didn't have much info available to the public on these batteries.

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

The quality of Optima batteries has certainly decreased since they purchased them

[@emmanuelsamaras8974]

Great concept. Nice talk video. A schematic would have been a bonus

[@1CharlieEcho]

Great research. Appreciate hearing your considerations into making your final decision. I’ve got a Pearson 35. I want to ditch my diesel. But on a tight budget. I already can’t stand all the oil and diesel smell. Nasty. I just got it. Made a video of wading it

[@cougartpt793]

Hi we Are doing the same thing I'm going with the first motors and jell packs battery have a 50ft loogon

[@cnawan]

Perhaps you should write an ebook when you're done. You've got comparative analyses of different systems; you'll have operational data when it's running; you've got photographic chops to make it pretty; and you have a marketing channel. It could be a helpful resource for the community and a passive earner of a few bucks to keep you running.

[@markjennings2315]

Great run through of options. Im keen on the outrunner options and Lion batteries. My only concern is battery fires and the serious hazard it would be. What containment options are there out there?

[@joehentalack2443]

Had the same"mental"problems when having to drill holes and removing a huge piece off the bottom, on a perfectly sound,floating 8 m sail-boat,I installed a Supercharged Kawasaki jet-ski Motor with the jet propulsion system(310 HP),and it is just fantastic,when trolling for fish or on bad seas,all that torque makes it safer,and I went to places in Thailand where a prop would have been an issue,with hundreds of Jellyfish or random plastic,nets,lines pollution, close to some ports before sailing to high Seas.But going all electric is a super option too.

[@NeeniJ9]

Great to see your vision starting to come to life. Go Simon! I think it's important be cognizant about issues with storing warm water. That's the perfect condition for bacteria. It's not for drinking, but in a shower it could cause skin and lung problems. Surely something simple exists to prevent problems?

[@findingsimon]

+NeeniJ9 hadn't thought of that. I'll have to put something in place. For now a little chlorine will do but maybe something more permanent and sustainable later

[@geraldthomas9253]

I'm a little concerned about the water heater idea myself. The water being pumped through the cooling jackets is going to pick up debris and contaminants. Personally, I'd use an isolated system for the water cooling that had a heat exchanger system in the fresh water tanks. That way there's less room for contaminates to enter the potable water. Over all though his system seems quite sound and I'm curious as to how well it works for him. I'm also interested in learning what issues he encounters with it and how he addresses them.

[@harrybloom9213]

This is a very interresting project! I'm old but I dont really care about Diesel engines... You got yourself a new subscriber! +1

[@ArcticSeaCamel]

Thanks for the info. I’m thinking something similar but with diesel generator an diesel heater stove involved. (Here in north you need that extra heat and power..) Just thinking of that water heating. I’d go with couple of solar vacuum tubes for keeping well insulated water heater at minimum 65C. You cannot keep the water colder than that safely. A question regarding this: Is the cooling of these electric stuff really that critical so that you need complicated cooling system for them? Is there potential problems with air cooling?

[@mikegregory222]

So awesome I found you so awesome I just now found you I have a 23 ft paceship Canadian sailboat I want to make it totally Electric

[@jolindasaindon2038]

What a smart guy!! Heading in the right direction moving away from dirty stinky fossil fuels. Love the comment about the old guys hanging onto their diesel!

[@towmaider3964]

What about large scale brushless out drive motors this is the rout I am going for my 24' cabin cruiser

[@britboy20002]

Have you considered regeneration in your motor selection? This for me is a crucial element of the mix as is the perfect way to charge the batteries whilst Sailing. This also dictates type of motor/prop configuration as the regen needs to be stopped once the batteries are full.

[@findingsimon]

Compared to my solar setup regen makes almost no power. It's equivalent to my wind power generation. I'm not counting it as a major part of power build. My first outboards won't have regent since that saves me 800 bucks or so.

[@MaloRichard]

I have a diesel engine on my 12m (9tons) monohull, I’m not planning to make it electric but more of an hybrid approach with diesel inboard and electric outboard at the back of the boat. I’ll like to have an hour of autonomy. Last year I did 7000 nautical mile cruising and 145h of engine and two third of them were less than an hour (most are just arriving at an anchorage 20/30min). Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@bradmcclure4945]

I'm looking at adding electric sail drives to my cat one in each hull 48v system

[@johnboyc8924]

You can put a motor inline of the shaft from the diesel motor if you go for inboard

[@mbiancotti]

Hi there, just watched your video and it was very informative, I am currently planing to install a 10 Kw electric motor from thunderstruck motors on my 31ft Maxi95. Some people had installed a gear reduction 2:1, is that necessary? without the gear reduction will you be able you run the motor at the same speed consuming half of the power?

[@Elusivedestiny001]

Been looking at several water cooled systems for cooler waters... West coast Canada...have you made any head way with continuous water flow...and are you opting for salt water cooling or sticking fresh water?

[@TonyAnschutz]

THis is a great explanation of a very complicated subject. I too am super interested in this type of system. I also have a wharram tiki 38 very soon. I had not considered using the water cooling to heat my tanks. Perhaps you would just use a day tank so you were not heating all the water. How much water cooling is used for your charge controller? Or inverter?

[@findingsimon]

+ScubaTony Anschutz I'd like to keep the water storage to a small tank anyways and rely on a small watermarks running daily or every other day. It's one way I'm planning on keeping weight down.

[@ShaninAlderaan]

I really like the thought of saving your waste heat, but as an engineer working with energy systems in buildings I just want you to be aware of the risks with Legionella in luke warm water. Your project sounds really interesting!

[@GUNNER67akaKelt]

Yeah, seriously, warm water in a container is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Find someway of keeping it disinfected. Maybe deionization.

[@GeeCeeAte]

What you should look into is in tank heat exchangers for your hot water heater. So the cooling water doesn't directly touch the drinking water. Then get a small Solar Evacuated Tube system. Hook this up to your hot water heater as well. Amazon "12v hot water circulating pump". They are only 10$. Use one of those to pump through the solar evacuated tubes. This would definitely heat up your water the rest of the way. The engine water might get it lukewarm, maybe itll get it up to 160-180 depending how much you run the motors. But the Evacuated Tubes would be kind of a backup system to make sure that water always stays as hot as possible. You'll never have to worry about Legionella

[@davep6977]

Not a boat person, but I like using technology as much as possible. This is the 3rd electric boat video and as I watched the others including regenerating motors I wondered why nobody included a wind turbine

[@freeloader69]

Hey, bud. I just subbed. Thanks for this! Some quick questions - I will hopefully be getting an original Cal 30 soon, and I really want to get rid of the diesel and replace it with an electric. 1) Do you think I could get away with a single DC motor setup for that? 2) What do you think of integrating a shaft generator setup? I’ve heard that those can supply more than enough power for all a sailor’s normal needs, so maybe that will do? 3) Where can I find these motors without paying ridiculous prices? My soon-to-be roommate is a master electrician, so maybe we can bounce ideas off each other? Let me know.

[@ThreeDigitIQ]

It does not look like you have considered RDP electric motors like the torque-jet. Any thoughts on those types of electric motors?

[@Pureinfinity]

great score on batteries, i would break pv battery motors and inverters in two separate systems for safety, in case of fault or lightning, also lightning bypass system and even maybe a large kite for favorable wind conditions, i have come two many of the same conclusions, even the tender could have the same outboard as the other two 48v 10kw bldc's just in case. lots of safety on a diy out in the ocean, and some actuators on some of your panels to catch afternoon and morning sun, way more efficient. great job well articulated, thanks for sharing

[@jsonnichsen]

Hi. Just stumbled across your vid. First one. Luckily I understand Wharram. Most don’t. Where are you going to put all those solar panels?

[@tenexESA]

where will put all these panels? What size id your boat?

[@chrisflower2218]

Hi great video I want to do electric drive in my boat but trying to get any useful info is really hard here in the UK. Have you thought about buying a used body damaged Nissan leaf and taking the battery, charger, controller and motor out of it and use that. It is all water cooled and made to work together plus Nissan are world wide so spare parts should be easy to get.

[@findingsimon]

+Chris Flower I had yeah but the size didn't line up so great. If I was building a motor trawler that'd be perfect

[@danateel]

I agree with Ted Renard about getting in touch with Sailing Uma. His electric motor setup works well but at last report wasn't working so well in the regen configuration. I don't think he's worked that out quite yet. I'm also an avid RCG member (dteel on that forum) and build my own helicopters and quads; I'm also an electrical engineer. I was surprised that you referred to the motors in use in those applications as DC. They use a DC source but the ESCs convert that DC into a 3 phase AC to drive the motors. Most of my helicopter motors run at 8KHz but the optimal frequency is determined by the ESC in use and the number poles the motor has. The higher frequency they use is responsible for the small size to power ratio. Before others jump on my assertion about AC not DC motors, yes some quads use DC brushed motors but certainly no racing quads or any RC helicopters that are not toys. Have you looked at any of the electric car motors and ESCs? Looking forward to how this all works out for you and wishing you the best of luck!

[@findingsimon]

yeah I was looking at the goldenmotor 10kwBLDC and I may end up there in the end, but I found rotomax 100cc motors made for my 12s battery banks that crank out 8kw and are about the size of a melon, not to mention cheap as chips and better build quality than the goldenmotors. I had looked at the AC35 in one outboard from the center, but decided it would be nice to have two motors for flexibility in tight navigation, and would also be nice to remove one motor and use it on the dinghy while on anchor. Usually these cats have 2 9.9HP motors, so I'm trying it with 2 8KW for now and later on I can sell em and move up. They're a lot cheaper than pretty much every other option, at about $1500 per motor complete.

[@danateel]

That looks like an incredible choice. Lets you keep the batteries in a 12S configuration too! Nice find!

[@wildandliving1925]

You want a desiel generator. You can have a desiel heater stove ect so the fuel does everything even hot water. Electric doesn't charge enough to travel fair distances unless you have a generator. You want 2 so you can spin with the throttle makes docking and getting around alot easyier.

[@findingsimon]

+WildandLiving I think I'll skip on the desiel.

[@revhead806]

I am curious about the motor shafts . Will they be strong enough to drive the vessel? The original design they come from is so much smaller than your requirement. I guess that’s one for the “considering it” column . Love the channel, your projects are motivating 👍🏼

[@nicospapa6185]

Where would you pull the solar panels on the yachts

[@ecnavttocs]

I am an old fart and am looking at doing the same. Love sailing and NO... noise/fumes/oil/dirty bilges/dirty oceans/fuel tanks etc etc. Go for it. I hope I can learn something from your experience. I love passing on skills and knowledge to young ones..... Maybe you can teach us oldies. Cheers Vance Western Australia.

[@normvanthoff]

Hi, nice project, good speculations & explanations. Interested to see what you choose. I have a Wharram Tiki 38 and would love a simple solar/electric conversion from my twin 9.9 4 strokes. My little Yamaha's push our boat to 7knots in calm water, but note, getting 3knots requires perhaps 25-30% throttle ie 6-7hp. It takes very little power to push a Tiki 38 at 3-4knots, so I suspect the electric motors & batteries will make sense in terms of cruising range in calms. The other thing is occasionally having to claw off a lee shore or fight against a tidal flow. For these max power is required but usually, not for long periods. So once again, assuming full batteries, the electric system should be fine. Finally, given we spend most of our time near land, we're usually only doing short trips of an hour or two so once again, electric works. Oh.. one last thing. Sailing in the tropics is way more fun than sailing in cold climates... and there's heaps of sun ;-) Norm, "Jumpa Lagi", Wharram Tiki 38

[@danielwatters1731]

Seems like a huge effort for a vessel that’s built to sail around

[@johncorbett5827]

What would be the difference in distance electric V diesel , because on some crossings you motor for hours. (no wind ).

[@dorothygorman1577]

I am new to your channel. I like your well thought out plan. I am also a Wharram fan, which one do you plan to build. Be careful when warming water as Legionnaires disease can be an issue. Cheers Ken

[@findingsimon]

this is an old Oro from the 70's

[@lightend100]

I was looking at doing something similar once my mortgage is paid off (so I can rent out my flat and pay for food and repairs). Im also thinking a cat or a tri. But leaning on a cat. My main problem was that I wanted a self righting system (After reading about a large lagoon cat that got flipped near the Azores loosing their daughter).. Have you considered anything similar? A method to prevent total capsize?

[@philipfreeman72]

Have you seen the kites they are using for boats ?

[@C0NTRABAN1]

I’m curious about the fresh water situation as well. Is there a way to convert sea water?? I have not researched this much.

[@findingsimon]

+Keith Butler great little inventions. I'll have one on board eventually but the cheapest option I've found is 3200$ so it may be a while.

[@vincentstrader]

Hi Simon, wanted to share a link with you that may save you that $3200 NM State put up this cool video on how to build a solar water distiller kzbin.info/www/bejne/faOzg6GXiJlnb9k I have plans with the same boat and am very happy to have found your channel. I look forward to your build and process. It is cool to find others with the same kind of ideas of living at sea for the real off grid living.... See you on the ocean one day...

[@kimyoung230]

@@findingsimon You can make your own from off-the-shelf components for notably less than that. Still not cheap, but much less. With the benefit that you know how to repair it.

[@skipkleger1659]

After waiting 2 years for the supply chain to self correct I’m looking for other solutions. Although radical, having a diesel genset offers a hybrid diesel solution option. As cost per KW/Hr. Continues to drop as supplies for diesel parts are increasing difficult to source pushing me to having formerly off the shelf parts to be custom fabricated. Looking at all options to supply, machine or install a raw water pump. Looking from Seattle to Florida.

[@carlsmith2826]

Have you consider using a Zdrive?

[@squimped]

Keeping your fresh water warm but (due to the large mass) probably not *hot* sounds like a perfect way to create a breeding tank for legionella and other interesting things...

[@matthewedwardnation603]

have you looked into hydro gravidic drive ony works with salt water but no moving parts new chinese sub

[@jeffgriglack9624]

I converted my 30 foot sailboat from a gas inboard to electric 2 years ago. I used a Motenergy ME1115 Dual-Stator Brushless Motor and lead acid batteries in a 48v bank. I am not a live aboard, so I have more time to let the bank come back using a small solar bank. I use the motor just to get in and out of my home port, and sail the rest of the time. In theory, I can regenerate using the motor, but I haven't been able to do so. I spent less on my entire system than you did on your battery bank, but my goals are not as ambitious as your's.

[@morrisgoldin4362]

Jeff Griglack I’m working on an electric repower for my Ericson 27 at the moment. I’ve got a Honda 9.9. HP outboard motor at the moment. I was thinking I might be able to use 2, 3 or 4 winch motors without a controller and just a contractor relay to control forward and reverse. To go forward at full power i’d put all my motors in forward or to go forward slowly I’d put a single motor center or near center motor in forward or reverse. Have you thought about using 12 volt winches in this application?

[@morrisgoldin4362]

I bought my first used winch motor (12 volt 5kw) for $40 and I can get a contractor for $30 to $40 and wires and a 3 position switch for not a huge amount more money. I’m hoping to start driving my boat all electric for under 1k.

[@jimnickles2347]

Simon, have you checked to see the speed of Pacific Currents? Some Currents in places 10 knots. You need to Build for Ocean Currents, or stay away from areas with high-speed currents, or at least time your transits with the tides, if any...

[@harrydyer3079]

how did you.find your batteries?

[@Timothyis]

It sounds like You have it all in order. Electric boat is a dream

[@cenexes12]

try mechman 370 alternators with a good DC motor controller and DC motor

[@joejensen6203]

How will you mount all that solar,?

[@ahbushnell1]

With a sail boat and all of the panels some will be shaded. If you parallel all the panels there is a big impact with just one shaded. People use micro-inverters on each panel and it fixes this problem but of course it will cost more. There are demonstrations on line that show what happens.

[@findingsimon]

+Andy Bushnell yeah that was an option but I didn't like the controllers out there exposed to the elements. Either way if the sails are up I'm sailing not so worried about the power then.

[@redlion6505]

with everything being water-cooled, and the water-cooled tank and your daily usage water tank being the same tank what happens if you run out of water?

[@stargatetitanx]

i agree with some of what you said but it would be a good idea to have a Biofuel generator or even e100 generator as a back up wind great but sometimes the wind does not blow and the sun dont shine